I had not intended that Embers should ever be given to the public, butfriends whose judgment I respect have urged me to include it in thesubscription edition at least, and with real reluctance I have consented.It was a pleasure to me to have one piece of work of mine which made nobid for pence or praise; but if that is a kind of selfishness, perhapsunnecessary, since no one may wish to read the verses, I will now freemyself from any chance of reproach. This much I will say to soothe awaymy own compunctions, that the book will only make the bid for popularityor consideration with near a score of others, and not separately, andthat my responsibility is thus modified. The preface to Embers says allthat need be said about a collection which is, on the whole, merely abook of youth and memory and impressionism in verse. At least it was allspontaneous; it was not made to order on any page of it, and it is thehandful left from very many handfuls destroyed. Since the first edition(intended only for my personal friends) was published I have written"Rosleen," "Where Shall We Betake Us?" "Granada," "Mary Callaghan andMe," "The Crowning" (on the Coronation of King Edward VII), the fragment"Kildare" and "I Heard the Desert Calling"; and I have also includedothers like "The Tall Dakoon" and "The Red Patrol," written over twentyyears ago. "Mary Callaghan and Me" has been set to music by Mr. MaxMuller, and has made many friends, and "The Crowning" was the Coronationode of 'The People', which gave a prize, too ample I think, for the bestmusical setting of the lines. Many of the other pieces in 'Embers' havebeen set to music by distinguished composers like Sir Edward Elgar, whohas made a song-cycle of several, Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Mr. ArthurFoote, Mrs. Amy Woodforde Finden, Robert Somerville, and others. Thefirst to have musical setting was "You'll Travel Far and Wide," to whichin 1895 Mr. Arthur Foote gave fame as "An Irish Folk Song." Like "OFlower of All the World," by Mrs. Amy Woodforde Finden, it has had aworld of admirers, and such singers as Mrs. Henschel helped to make Mr.Foote's music loved by thousands, and conferred something more than anephemeral acceptance of the author's words. When thou comest to the safe tent of the good comrade, abide there till thy going forth with a stedfast mind; and if, at the hospitable fire, thou hast learned the secret of a heart, thou shalt keep it holy, as the North Wind the trouble of the Stars. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.